Health Insurance Question

Hello everyone. This is my first post. Today was my first day of taking Meridia. My insurance doesn't cover it. $140 a month will be hard to come up with every month. Since it's open season at my husband's work I'm thinking about changing insurance companies. We are currently insured with Mail Handlers and Tri-Care. Can anyone recommend a health insurance company that would cover Meridia?

I dont think i have ever seen a plan that covers "elective" medicines, like meridia. There may be some out there, but i have never seen one. Which to me is totally stupid. I mean, pay for my diet pills now, or pay for my diabetes, heart disease, etc later. Seems a "preventative" medicine to me. But then again, they only see anorexic and bulemics as "eating disorders". Obesity is usually ignored by the insurance companies.

Is the meridia working? My doc said she would prescribe it for me, but she hasnt seen anyone really have any success on it. So i opted not to use it.

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Stacy - I may not be able to lose 100 pounds, but I can lose 10 pounds 10 times!

It's not always the insurance company that doesn't cover the meds, it's the plan that the employer group buys. Since you have Mail Handlers and Tri-Care (both "government" plans) I'm betting none of the plans are going to cover Meridia. Yet lots of these same plans cover Viagra! Basically an insurance company will cover anything that the law requires be covered or the group is willing to pay premiums for, and since being over weight is still considered a character flaw by so many people, you will more than likely have to pay for the Meridia yourself. Sorry.

Thanks for the replies. I guess I'll have to pay for Meridia out of pocket. This is only my 2nd day on Meridia so I don't know if it will work for me or not. I need to lose 100 pounds. My doctor said a lot of her patients had had success with Meridia.

Have you tried getting Meridia at Costco? I tried Meridia a few years ago and my insurance company told me to buy it at Costco because it'd be cheaper. It didn't work for me and worst, it elevated my blood pressure (sign that bad side effects are to come) so my doctor said I couldn't take it anymore.

You might also check Sam's Club if you don't have a Costco. If you check Sam's club as how much more you'd save if you buy their extended plan.

I ran out of prescription drug coverage for the year, and we joined Sam's Club to take advantage of their pharmacy discounts (in many areas you don't need a membership to use the Sam's pharmacy, but you should ask for price quotes with and without memberships). We bought the extended Sam's membership ($100) because the added savings were well worth it.

Several years ago, I was on Meridia, and it helped me lost about 15 lbs (I had over 200 to lose). It raised my blood pressure a tiny bit, but my doctor and I felt that slightly increasing my blood pressure medication was acceptable to give the Meridia a chance. The effects on my weight loss weren't nearly as extreme as the drug's effects on my moods. I couldn't sleep, I had severe mood swings, my sex drive went through the roof (to the point that it was no longer a good thing). The effects were so extreme my husband said I became "scary," and asked me to stop taking it.